bible verses about jonah

Bible Verses About Jonah: 12

Bible Verses About Jonah: 12 on the prophet who ran, prayed from the fish, and saw mercy.

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By Christopher McAllister

Founder of theBibleand.Love

Published October 4, 20266 min readJonah 1:1-3

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"The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me." But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. … From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said: "In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry." … He prayed to the Lord, "Isn't this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.""

— Jonah 1:1-3; 2:1-2; 4:2 (NIV)

People who search bible verses about Jonah want Scripture on Yonah — the prophet who ran from the Lord toward Tarshish, prayed from inside the fish, preached to Nineveh, and then argued with God's mercy — not only mercy alone. This page is a numbered list of twelve passages with the NIV text and a short note on each. Related lists: Bible verses about mercy, Bible verses about repentance, Bible verses about obedience, Bible verses about forgiveness, Bible verses about prayer, Bible verses about love, Bible verses about Jesus, and Bible verse of the day. Jonah here means the son of Amittai in the book of Jonah — distinct from generic mercy or repentance lists.

Word study (lead theme). In Hebrew, יוֹנָה Yonah (Strong's H3124; Bible Hub H3124) — Jonah ("dove"). In Jonah 1 he flees; in Jonah 2 he prays from the fish; in Jonah 4 he names the Lord "gracious and compassionate." This list tracks that Jonah inventory — not a mercy-alone twelve.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Jonah 1 presses Jonah's flight from the presence of the Lord and the storm that followed him onto the ship (Bible Hub MHC Jonah 1; Blue Letter Bible, Matthew Henry on Jonah 1). (Mercy and repentance pages live elsewhere; this list centers Jonah the prophet.)

12 Bible verses about Jonah

  1. Jonah 1:1-3. "The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me." But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord." Ran away — toward Tarshish. See Bible verses about obedience.

  2. Jonah 1:15-17. "Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him. Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights." Overboard — the Lord provided a fish.

  3. Jonah 2:1-2. "From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said: "In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry."" Prayer from the fish — he answered. See Bible verses about prayer.

  4. Jonah 2:7-9. ""When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God's love for them. But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. I will say, 'Salvation comes from the Lord.'"" Salvation comes from the Lord. See Bible verses about love.

  5. Jonah 2:10. "And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land." Dry land — the Lord commanded.

  6. Jonah 3:1-3. "Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: "Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you." Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh." A second time — Jonah obeyed. See Bible verses about obedience.

  7. Jonah 3:4-5. "Jonah began by going a day's journey into the city, proclaiming, "Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown." The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth." Nineveh believed — sackcloth. See Bible verses about repentance.

  8. Jonah 3:10. "When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened." God relented. See Bible verses about forgiveness.

  9. Jonah 4:1-2. "But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord, "Isn't this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity."" Gracious and compassionate — Jonah's complaint. See Bible verses about mercy.

  10. Jonah 4:10-11. "But the Lord said, "You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?"" Should I not have concern — the last word is God's. See Bible verses about mercy.

  11. Matthew 12:40-41. "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here." Sign of Jonah — greater than Jonah. See Bible verses about Jesus.

  12. Luke 11:30. "For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation." A sign to the Ninevites. See Bible verses about Jesus.

How to use these verses

Pick one verse when you need Jonah — not twelve as a grind. If you are running from something God asked, start at Jonah 1:1–3. If you need a prayer from the bottom, open Jonah 2:1–2 and 2:7–9. If you struggle with mercy shown to others, open Jonah 4:1–2 and 4:10–11. For mercy in general, open Bible verses about mercy. For turning back, open Bible verses about repentance. For a daily verse, open Bible verse of the day.

Questions people ask

What is a good Bible verse about Jonah?

Jonah 2:1–2 is the clear starting place — "In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me." Jonah 4:2 names the Lord gracious and compassionate.

Was Jonah swallowed by a whale?

The NIV says "a huge fish" (Jonah 1:17), and Jesus says "a huge fish" in Matthew 12:40. The text does not name the kind of creature.

What Hebrew word sits under Jonah?

Yonah (H3124) — Jonah, from the word for "dove."

What is the sign of Jonah?

In Matthew 12:40–41 and Luke 11:30, Jesus points to Jonah's three days and three nights in the fish as a sign of the Son of Man's three days in the heart of the earth.

How is Jonah different from mercy alone?

Mercy pages gather God's compassion in general. This list centers Jonah the man — the flight, the fish, Nineveh, and his argument with God's mercy.

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